Death was Only The Beginning
by zentary
Summary: They thought everything was going to end when they died, but for Naruto and Hinata they found out Death was only the beginning of their journey. pairings Naruto/Hinata Ichigo/Orihime. -Discontinued-
1. Prologue

Death was Only the Beginning

No I don't own Naruto or Bleach

Prologue

Naruto and Hinata stood before the Gedo Mazo statue that held eight of the nine Bijuu. It had been four years since the battle with Pein in the Leaf village. The battles were finally going to come to an end one way or another. This statue was all that remained that kept the world in chaos. He had climbed over the statue and placed a large seal on it he designed himself.

The seal would cause all the bijuus' energy to combine at once and implode. This would make it so the bijuu could never reform again, there by ending the threat the bijuu caused. Of course, there was the problem of him with the nine tailed fox. Naruto stayed in the cave with the statue, as he couldn't activate the seal remotely. When he activated it, there would only be a twenty second delay before the explosion, meaning there was no possibility of escape for him. He would die here with the bijuu, and he resigned himself to this fate. He had told everyone to get as far away as possible to escape the massive explosion that would ensue.

Naruto looked over at his fiance, Hinata Hyuga, who stood beside him. She had deiced to stay until the end. In a way, he was grateful that she was staying with him until the end. Naruto asked her many times if she wanted to leave before he sealed the tunnels leading to this statue. Hinata, of course, replied with a resounding 'no' every time he asked.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist. "Thank you, Hinata. Thank you for everything over the years." The two had been dating for four years now and Naruto had finally proposed. But then so many things happened and now this. "I'm sorry Hinata. I really am."

Hinata smiled and kissed him passionately. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Naruto-kun. I chose this, and I don't regret any of it." She then buried her face into his chest. "I couldn't imagine being in a world without you."

Naruto tightened his grip around Hinata. "Thank you, Hinata. That means a lot." He looked up at the statue for a moment, then asked Hinata a question. "Is everyone far enough away yet, Hime?"

Hinata activated her Byakugan. Over the years, Hinata's Byakugan began to see farther and farther. To date, her doujutsu could see up to five kilometers, which was much farther than anyone had previously been able to see in her clan. "Yes. They've finally gotten past the range of my sight. You can activate the the seal now, Naruto-kun."

Naruto sighed, he wished he had a few more years with Hinata. He placed his hand down on the seal and activated it. The seal began to glow a dark blue. "Looks like this is goodbye, Hinata," Naruto said with a smile. "I love you, Hinata."

Hinata smiled softly at him. "I love you too, Naruto-kun."

They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed one last time. As they kissed, the statue began to crack, and energy shot out of the cracks. In a matter of moments, a blinding light consumed them. They were gone, incinerated instantly in the explosion.

Six kilometers away, the ninja of each nation watched as the mountain and a diameter of three kilometers around the mountain were covered in a massive explosion. They all knew nothing could survive such a blast. They all knew Naruto Namikaze and Hinata Hyuga were now dead, but, thankfully, their sacrifice was not in vain.

* * *

Naruto awoke in a desert of white sand and black leafless trees. He noticed he was wearing a black trench coat with black pants and shirt. He then noticed two Ninjato next to him. The hilts of the swords were black and had an ornate fox design on them. The blades of the swords were a blood red. The sheaths that lay next to the swords were black and had an intricate red fox design on them. They lay next to the swords themselves. Naruto looked at the swords it felt as if they called to him. He picked up the Ninjato and sheathed them. He typed the swords around his back on the outside of his trench coat for easy access to the swords in case he needed to use them. He felt powerful for some reason, he also didn't feel the fox anymore. He guessed it was gone or they were fused now.

He looked around once more to see if he could see anything. Naruto found a few mountain ranges off in the distance but that was about it. He suddenly began to laugh for no apparent reason. His laughing died down. "Of course I would be sent to a hell such as this. The fox was an evil prick after all... I wonder which direction I should choose to walk in?" He asked himself. Naruto looked around and chose to walk towards the mountain range.

Naruto was alone for a long time and was used to being alone. Now in this place he was alone once more. He knew Hinata wouldn't be sent to such a place. She was a pure soul and would be sent to a far better place then this. "Why can't anything be cut and dry with my miserable life?" Naruto complained to himself before walking off.

Naruto looked no different then he had in life except for the odd change in clothing.

Hinata found herself in a place she had never seen before. She found herself wearing a black kimono-like attire that she had never seen before. She also had a sheathed sword on her person. She unsheathed the sword to examine it. The blade of the sword was very light blue. Unless it shined in the light, you wouldn't even realize it. A white tiger formed the guard of the katana she wielded. The hilt of the sword was pure white. The sheath was black also had a white tiger design much like that of the guard of the sword.

Hinata jumped up on the side of a wall. She saw what looked like a giant maze of passageways leading around this massive complex. "Where am I? And why am I still alive?" she asked herself. An old man with a cane appeared behind Hinata. She quickly turned to face the man. "Umm... excuse me sir, but where am I?" she asked the aged man.

"You are in a place called the Seiretei, but I am not sure how you got here. And you are most certainly not alive. To get to this place, one must die first."

"So I'm dead?" Hinata's eyes widened in realization that Naruto was not with her. "Umm... have you seen a man with short blonde hair and whisker like scar marks on his cheeks?"

"No. You are the only new arrival to this place. That is why I came. You see, when someone dies, their soul comes to the soul society, but not here. I've never seen or heard of someone appearing here after death, dressed in shinigami clothing and sword in hand." The old man realized something. "Do you mean to tell me you remember your past life?"

"Yes. Is that not normal?"

"No. it's also unheard of to remember everything about your past life. Some remember fragments, but that's all they ever remember. Do you know the name of your sword?"

"Byakko is what is screaming in my mind when I wonder what my sword is called."

"Very interesting," he mumbled to himself. "Do you know what Byakko means?"

"No. I don't sir."

"It means the white tiger of the west." he paused for a moment before speaking again. "Now if you will come with me, I will explain everything that you need to know about this place."

"Before that, what is your name? Mine's Hinata Hyuga."

"Oh yes of course, my apologies. My name is Yamamoto. I'm the captain commander of the shinigami of this place." Yamamoto jumped down to the street and began to walk. He could feel the power radiating off the young woman he had been talking to.

Hinata let out a depressed sigh and followed the man named Yamamoto. As the two walked, he explained everything to Hinata. Hinata learned much in their walk of the Seireitei and the shinigami who live within. Once Yamamoto finished explaining what this place was and a shinigami's function, Hinata told him what had happened and how she died.

"That is an interesting story, my dear. But the human world below us is nothing like what you have described." Yamamoto shifted in his seat and grabbed his cup of tea that an assistant brought in.

Hinata looked down and stared at the cup of tea in her hands. "Then the energies must have thrown my soul here to this dimension. But what about my fiance?" she asked with some hope in her eyes.

"From what you tell me there are two places he would have been sent. The first is called Hueco Mundo. It is where the hollows live, the beings that we have to deal with on a regular basis. The second is Hell a place even I have not been to."

Tears formed in Hinata's eyes as she listened to what he was saying. Hinata sat there in silence for a time just thinking about Naruto. She wondered if she would ever see him again. "I see." Hinata looked into Yamamoto's eye's. "What do I do now? I have nothing left anymore." She replied sadly.

"Make a place for yourself here. Join the ranks of the shinigami. You have a tremendous power that I can feel coming from you. I doubt it will substitute for what you lost, but that is all I can offer you." Yamamoto was a cold man to most, but for some reason, he felt bad for this woman and took pity on her. "I would be willing to teach you how to communicate with your sword and train you in our ways."

Hinata sighed sadly. "I suppose I have nothing to lose at this point."

"I can't say I understand what you're going through, but I'm sure you will come to like this place and call it home."

Hinata got up and looked out the window of the building. She could see what the Seiretei looked like. Hinata felt in time she could get used to calling this place her home. She could see some of the people walking around chatting. They wore the same clothes as she did, except for the captains, like Yamamoto had told her earlier.

"I guess this is a my home now," she said to herself as she looked out the window. "Please, if you're out there, Naruto, come and find me," she said, not expecting for him to hear her.

A strong breeze was blowing on top of the cliff where Naruto stood._ "Please, if you're out there, Naruto, come and find me."_ Naruto spun around and looked in all directions, trying to find Hinata, but no one was there. "Looks like I'm already going crazy without her," he said to himself. Naruto sighed and sat down on top of the cliff. He looked at what seemed like and endless sea of sand and black trees.

It seemed that death was only the beginning for Naruto and Hinata

End chapter

My first attempt at a Naruto/Bleach crossover. What do you think?

Please leave a review and tell me what you think of the story.

There are two couples set in stone. The first would be NarutoxHinata. The second would be IchigoxOrihime. Sorry but those won't be changed. The prologue takes place about 400 years before the actual bleach story.

I know Yamamoto seems a bit OOC but that's only when he's with Hinata and others aren't around.

Yeah I know wtf is wrong with me posting another story.

Where do you all think I should start this story off in the actual first chapter. The beginning of the SS arc or before then?


	2. Chapter 1 And so it Begins

Death was Only the Beginning

No I don't own Naruto or Bleach

chapter one

A portal appeared out of nowhere in the sea of endless white sand and lifeless black trees. Out stepped a man with short, spiky blonde hair and whisker-like scars on his face. Naruto had finally come back to Hueco Mundo after his two hundred year absence. Where did Naruto go for such a long time? The answer was Hell, but Naruto, at the time, had no idea where he had gone. He had traveled there by mistake two hundred years ago when trying to leave Hueco Mundo in search of Hinata. At first, he was going to leave quickly back to where he had come from. However, Naruto stayed for some reason. Something called to him down there. He searched this place and found creatures with powers on the same level as his own.

Naruto really hadn't realized how much time had passed, as it seemed time down there worked differently. How exactly? That was something he couldn't figure, only feel as he spent time there. Naruto had met one or two beings down in Hell that taught him many things about the place. They weren't the most powerful of beings he encountered, but they were certainly intelligent. Soon after his arrival, though, creatures from this place would attack him quite often. Why? That part he couldn't understand. It was like they were bloodthirsty and could only think of fighting. He soon realized they were merely minions for a greater power down in that place. It seemed like the master of those creatures wanted him dead. He never found out why before his departure, and it wasn't from a lack of trying.

Naruto had learned while he was away that he could repair his clothes with his energy. He didn't know why that was, but it might have had something to with the fact that he arrived in Hueco Mundo with these clothes and, in a way; they were a part of him.

Naruto had been walking through the desert of Hueco Mundo as with only one thing on his mind, and that was Hinata. He still hadn't realized how long he had been gone. Naruto was currently walking up to the mountain range he had made his home before he left. He looked around. It seemed the place had been in use recently. Naruto shrugged and walked inside. He stopped when someone spoke.

"Who are you and what are you doing in our home!" Came a voice from further inside the cave.

Naruto raised an eyebrow; he knew that voice. That was one of those hollows that was always hanging around Nel. "Pesche where's Nel?" Naruto asked.

A head poked out from behind a rock. "Naruto, you finally came back!" screamed a tall skinny looking humanoid hollow. The hollow came running at Naruto full speed, crying tears of joy as he ran. He had Naruto in a vice like hug.

"Alright, Pesche, you can get off me now," Naruto said trying to pry the humanoid hollow off him. A few minutes later, once he was able to pry Pesche off of himself, the two went farther into the cave. "Where is Dondochakka?" Naruto asked as they walked.

"He's with Nel. She's taking a nap at the moment," he replied

_'Nap? Nel never takes naps! What exactly is going on...'_ Naruto wondered as they walked.

They arrived at the main chamber and saw Dondochakka sleeping on the floor next to a bed with a small girl with bluish green hair. Naruto looked at the small girl. She looked just like Nel, only far younger than she had been when he left. He noticed the mask on her head was damaged pretty badly, and she had a rather nasty looking scar on her forehead. Naruto walked over to Dondochakka and kicked him.

"Leave me alone, Pesche. I spent all day playing with Nel, now go away," Dondochakka said before going back to bed.

"Get up, Dondochakka, or I'll do more than kick you lightly this time."

Dondochakka opened one eye and saw Naruto standing next to him. He was now instantly awake. "Naruto! We've been waiting for you to come back!" Dondochakka yelled in delight as he tried to hug Naruto.

Naruto was having none of that and his foot met Dondochakka's face. "Yeah, sorry, but I don't want a hug." He looked over at Nel and pointed. "What happened to her and what happened to you two?"

Both Pesche and Dondochakka sat down in front of Naruto and started to tell their story. They started their story off when Aizen, a shinigami, came to Hueco Mundo a little over hundred years ago. Pesche talked about how he was able to control all the Arrancar of Nel's level somehow. The two then talked about the things Aizen had made them do that they didn't want to. They moved on to how they ended up as they were now. They told the whole story of how an Arrancar by the name of Nnoitra did this to them. Naruto was beyond irritated by what he was hearing.

"Alright you two, that's enough. How long have I been gone exactly?"

"About two hundred years, Naruto-sama," Pesche said.

Naruto's eyes widened as big as diner plates. _'I've been gone that long?'_ he thought. "Would you two step outside? I'm going to see if I can fix Nel's mask." the two nodded and left. Just as they were about to leave Naruto spoke. "Oh and Pesche cut the 'sama' crap would you? It really makes me feel old."

The two left, leaving Naruto to see if he could help Nel. Naruto sighed as he examined the damage to her mask. Somehow Nnoitra had damage her mask in such a way that it made her revert to the body of a child. He figured fixing the damage would reverse the problem. That's if he could fix the damage at all. Naruto knelt down beside the sleeping Nel. His hands began to glow a dull blue. He placed his glowing hands on Nel's mask. He directed the power that he had gathered in his hands into her mask trying to force the regeneration process. Naruto forced more and more energy into Nel's mask. He began to sweat as he was pushing a tremendous amount of power into her mask.

The mask itself began to regenerate slowly and as the minutes passed it was almost fully regenerated. When the mask fully regenerated a bright light filled the room and Nel's body returned to its former state. She was now five foot nine and her breasts were back to their double D status. The green cloth that once covered her small body now only covered her breasts and tightly at that. Also, what was left of the shorts she wore barely covered her nether regions.

Beads of sweat rolled down Naruto's face, he was tired after using so much energy. He smiled at Nel and grabbed a nearby blanket and placed it over her, trying to preserve her dignity. Less than a minute passed before Nel opened her eyes.

"Where am I?" she asked herself aloud.

"Ah, so you're awake already. I figured you would be asleep a while after I fixed your mask."

Nel looked to the side to see Naruto sitting beside the bed. Her arms shot out from under the covers and grabbed Naruto in a massive bear hug. "Naruto-kun your back!" she screamed in delight as she delivered a bone crushing hug.

"C-c-can't b-breathe," Naruto said while being crushed by Nel's arms.

Nel released Naruto from the hug, and Naruto stood up and grabbed a chair before sitting down.

"So, do tell me, how you were so easily controlled by some shinigami?" Naruto asked in an amused tone.

Nel pulled the covers over herself, thoroughly embarrassed. Naruto laughed loudly at Nel's reaction. "Not funny..." she pouted.

"You two can come back in now," Naruto called out.

Pesche and Dondochakka came into to the room to see Nel back to normal. They both ran at her excitedly and hugged her. Naruto was amused to see the reunion, because Pesche and Dondochakka made everything pretty comical. Naruto got up and walked out of the room. He stood at the mouth of the cave and looked out.

Nel soon came out, the blanket still covering her body. "Still thinking of her?" she asked.

"Always am, Nel," he replied sadly.

"What if she moved on? What will you do?"

"Don't know. I've never even considered that, really. Not even once. However, if that is the case then I'll leave without talking with her. I see no point in ruining her life by showing up after she already moved on." Naruto spoke in a hollow tone, not allowing his emotions to show one way or the other. Naruto turned around to Nel. "We're leaving, Nel."

"What? To where?"

"To the world of the living. I'm tired of this place, the seemingly endless desert and the black lifeless trees. The only reason I came back here first was because I didn't want to leave my friends behind again. From there, I will find a way to enter the realm of the shinigami and find Hinata."

"But the shinigami will come for us then. This place, be it a form of Hell, is the only place we can live without being hunted," she explained.

"I'd rather fight than live in this place or the place I spent the past two hundred years in. I know you don't like to fight, Nel, and you won't have to. If they come for us, I'll deal with them."

Nel didn't know where Naruto had gone for so long, and he didn't seem like he was too eager to talk about it. Nel looked out at the desert. It really wasn't much to look at. "Pesche and Dondochakka can come?" she asked.

"Of course. Why would I leave those two behind? They've been following us for a while now, and I rather like them. Go gather your things and tell Pesche and Dondochakka to get ready to leave."

Nel went into the cave, leaving Naruto by himself. Naruto stood out there alone just thinking about what he was going to do. He wondered if Hinata had moved on. It's not like he'd blame her if she had waited four hundred years. He didn't wait long as Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka came out. They weren't carrying anything. Nel was just wearing her old espada outfit that the other two had repaired.

"Just to get this out of the way, white just isn't your color, Nel, at least not that outfit," Naruto said jokingly.

Nel pouted and looked the other way. "Not like I had a choice. Aizen had the fashion sense of a rock." Naruto laughed as Nel opened the portal to the realm of the living.

"Oh, Pesche, Dondochakka, I'll see about fixing you up later, but right now I can't spare the amount of energy needed to fix you guys."

The two nodded in understanding.

The four of them soon disappeared into the portal.

**In the realm of the living**

Urahara Kisuke sat in his shop drinking tea. He had just finished sending Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends through to the Soul Society. He had no clue if they would succeed or not, but obviously the odds were not in their favor at this point.

Tessai Tsukabishi came walking into the room. "Are you sure we did the right thing by allowing them to go?"

"Whether it was right or not it was his decision. Besides, Isshin asked me to do it, even if I thought i was sending Ichigo to his death by doing so. Anyhow, Yoruichi is with them. I'm sure she will get them out of trouble if she has to."

Tessai sat down at the opposite end of the table from Urahara. "Where do you think they will go first once there inside the Seireitei?"

Urahara put down his tea. "There is really only one place they can go for safety in that place."

"Do you really think Hinata will help them? I mean, she's been retired for many years."

"Maybe so, but she is still the former captain of the second division, well after she let Yoruichi take over the position. Hinata also helped us escape the Seireitei. I'm sure she will help them, that's if they can make it there of course."

"Yes. Hinata is quite the woman, isn't she?" Tessai sipped his tea. "Wasn't she always talking about a man named Naruto?"

"Yep, I don't remember how many times Yoruichi made me sit there and listen to Hinata talk about that man. Naruto Namikaze: short spiky blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker like scar-marks on his cheeks. I've heard that so many times it's engraved in my mind. She's still waiting for him, I bet. Not sure why though, after four hundred years."

"That's love for you."

"I'm not sure. I mean she's been waiting four hundred years. I don't think anyone other than her would wait that long for someone who will probably never show up again in her life."

The two suddenly felt a powerful presence. The two looked at one another before disappearing from the room.

Naruto stepped out of the portal. Nel and the others not far behind. Naruto looked down at the city below him. He had to admit, it was much different than he expected it to be, considering it had only been four hundred years.

"Well this is definitely different than I expected," Naruto stated before sensing someone was coming. "It seems we have company."

Two men appeared before Naruto and the others, Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka hid behind Naruto. Urahara and Tessai were both speechless as they stared at the man they were just talking about. A minute passed before Urahara spoke.

"What's your name?" He asked pointing at Naruto.

"Well since you asked so nicely... my name's Naruto Namikaze."

Nel poked her head out from behind Naruto. "My name is Neliel Tu Oderschvank, but my friends just call me Nel."

"I'm Pesche!" "And I'm Dondochakka!" They said popping out to the left and right of Naruto respectively.

The whole scene was rather comical.

"Stop messing around," Naruto said, then sighed.

Urahara couldn't help but ask Naruto a certain question. "Have you come in search of a woman called Hinata Hyuga?"

"Yep. How did you know?"

"Let's head to my shop and we can discuss this further."

Naruto nodded. The six of them left for Urahara's shop. Once they arrived at Urahara's shop, he explained how he knew who Naruto was looking for. The conversation started off with what Hinata had been doing in the Soul Society. Also, the fact she has been waiting for Naruto to come and find her.

"So she's been waiting all this time for me?"

"Yep. She could have had just about any man she wanted to in the time she's been waiting." Urahara paused for a moment as he came up with an idea. "You want to go to the Soul Society and see her, correct?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that's why I came here. To find a way to that place."

Urahara raised an eyebrow. "How did you think that was going to work?"

"Well, I was going to find a shinigami, follow him, and wait for him to return to where he came from, then follow him back."

"Well, that seems like a decent enough plan, but how about this? I'll send you there if you do me a favor while you're there."

"What kind of favor?"

"You see, I sent a group of kids through about an hour ago, so they could get a friend of theirs back. I can tell you're at least as strong as a captain class Shinigami. Seeing as that's the case, I just want you to check up on them and help them out of tight situations if they happen to get themselves into one. Not a bad tradeoff for me sending you there, eh?"

Naruto thought about for a moment and then looked at Nel and the other two who nodded. "So I don't have to fight just for the hell of it?"

"Correct."

"And I only have to watch and make sure they don't get themselves killed?"

"Correct.

"Can Nel and the other two stay here while I'm gone?"

"Of course. As long as they don't cause any trouble, they can stay until you come back."

"Well I guess we have a deal then. I'll do as you ask if you send me to the Soul Society." Naruto held out his hand. The two of them shook hands to seal the deal.

Tessai noticed some of the color drained from Urahara's face.

Everyone made their way to the portal Urahara created to send Ichigo and his friends to the Soul Society. Urahara stood to one side as he began to activate it.

"A few things you should know before you head out. Hinata will most likely be inside the Seireitei, which is where the shinigami live. This portal will take you to where I sent Ichigo and the others, which was just outside the Seireitei. I'm sure they ran into some trouble while trying to get past the front gate. I don't know the location of Hinata's residence, so you're on your own in that regard." Urahara activated the gate. "Just follow the path until you reach the end. If you stray off the path... well... just don't do that."

"Works for me," Naruto shrugged then turned and looked at Nel. "Well, not sure when I'll be back Nel, but I'll be back," Naruto said before jumping backwards into the portal.

"Why did you help Naruto so quickly?" Nel asked.

"For a long time, a woman named Hinata Hyuga would talk about her fiance named Naruto Namikaze. She would use him as a reference for just about anything, really. She would go on and on about him being a good man and such. Based on that information, I took a chance on him because I had no other options available to me." Urahara smiled and clapped his hands together. "How about we all go top side and get something to eat? I'm starved!"

Nel was wondering if his behavior always changed so quickly like that. The five of them headed back up to the shop. They were all sitting around a table. Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka were rather uncomfortable.

"So how long have you known Naruto?" Urahara asked Neliel.

"Must be around three hundred plus years now," Nel replied as she picked up a bowl of rice. "Why do you ask?"

"Just trying to start a conversation. Why is it that it took Naruto four hundred years to finally go and find Hinata in the soul society?"

Nel put down her bowl and sighed. "He did try before, about two hundred years ago, but I guess he was sent to another place."

"'Another place'?"

"I really don't know. He just got back earlier today and wouldn't tell me about it."

"Interesting."

"Umm, would you know where I could get a change of clothes?" Nel looked down at the espada garb she was currently wearing. "I really dislike this outfit; it has a lot of... bad memories attached to it."

Urahara looked at her. "Hmm... I think Yoruichi's clothes would fit you." He pointed down the hall to a room. "Her room is down that way. Pick something you would like. I'm sure we'll be waiting some time for him to return."

Tessai began to speak once Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka left the room. "Something wrong? You went slightly pale when you shook hands with that Naruto guy."

"You could feel his power once we we got up close, right?"

"Yeah. Low to mid captain class, if you scale it with the current captains," he replied quickly.

"That wasn't the real power he held, Tessai. When I shook his hand, I could feel the real depths of his power, and it kind of scared me. I have no idea how he can hide such vast amounts of power like that. His power is, I dare say, greater than old man Yamamoto."

"But only four hundred years? How can he gather so much power in that time?"

"You remember that time Hinata talked about Naruto having a terriblely, powerful demon sealed inside of him?"

"Yes, I vaguely recall that."

"Well, we now know that story is true..."

**In The Soul Society**

Ichigo and his friends sat in one of the rooms of the chief of Rukongai. Ichigo had just recently beat Jidanbou, one of the four gate guards of the Seireitei. Shortly after defeating him, the giant Jidanbou tried opening the gate for Ichigo and his friends, but captain Gin Ichimaru appeared. The captain of Squad Three ejected them out of the Seireitei, injuring Jidanbou and causing the gate to shut once more. The group was currently thinking of options as to how they were going to get inside the Seireitei.

"How is Jidanbou doing?" Ichigo asked.

"Well ah... the wound is sealed now so... I guess he just needs to sleep it off," Orihime replied nervously. Orihime was always nervous when Ichigo addressed her, seeing as she had a big crush on him.

"So Yoruichi, once we find a way inside, you said this Hinata person would probably help us, right?" Ichigo asked.

"Correct. That is the first place we must go once we're inside the Seireitei. Once there, she will most likely help us by hiding us for a time, among other things."

"So what are we going to do now?" Uryu asked. "Seeing as we can't get past the gate."

"What about the other gates? Can't we just go into one of those?" Ichigo asked.

Yoruichi sighed. She wasn't sure that was such a great idea. "No. The result will probably just be the same as it was with this gate." Yoruichi thought about what they were going to do. "There is someone I know who might be able to get us past the barrier. However..." Yoruichi looked up, and her eyes widened as she felt a new presence. "Ichigo, do you feel that?"

"Yeah, but what is it?"

The others just looked at one another, confused, as they didn't feel anything.

Naruto stepped out of the portal, a hood now covering his head. He had generated a hood to cover his face in order to surprise Hinata and have have some fun with the shinigami. Naruto looked around he had expected it to be different from Hueco Mundo, but this just seemed like the living realm in a way, far different than he anticipated. Naruto watched as people ducked into buildings. He just shrugged and walked towards what looked like the gate of what was called the Seireitei. Naruto walked up to the massive body that lay near the front gate.

"Huh I wonder what happened to this guy... seems to be sleeping at the moment though." Naruto looked over at the front gate. "I wonder if I can just break it down." Naruto walked up to the gate and put his hand on it. Naruto took his hand off when he heard someone walking up to him. He turned his head to the side to see a black cat walking up behind him.

"Who are you?" the black cat asked. Yoruichi couldn't see the man's face, but his eyes glowed blue under the hood he wore.

"My name at the current time is rather unimportant, but you must be Yoruichi. Urahara said you liked transforming into a cat."

"So Urahara sent you, did he?"

"Yes, well, the price to come here was to make sure the lot of you didn't get yourselves killed."

"Price to come here? Why would you want to come here?" Yoruichi asked, not understanding. "You're obviously not a shinigami, so why would you want to come here?"

"You could say it's of a personal nature."

"Care to elaborate on that?"

"I made someone wait a very long time, far longer than someone should ever have to. Now all that's standing between me and my goal at this point is this rather large gate here." Naruto turned his head and looked at the gate again.

Yoruichi now had a good idea who this man was now. Her attention turned when she heard Ichigo calling out to her.

"Oi, Yoruichi! Who's this guy?" Ichigo asked while walking up to them. Ichigo thought the guy standing in front of the gate looked a bit ominous.

"Don't really know, all I know is Urahara sent him, although I'm not sure how helpful he will be."

"Like I said, I'm only here to make sure you don't get yourselves killed." Naruto didn't turn around as he spoke. All he did was examine the gate.

"How are you going to do that?" Ichigo asked. "I don't feel too much coming from you."

Naruto had further suppressed his power on the short journey through the portal. He didn't want to alert everyone to his presence.

Naruto turned his head so they could all see his glowing blue eyes underneath the hood he wore. "Well, if that's the way you feel, kid, come at me and just find out what I'm capable of."

"Sure! The direct approach works for me best, anyhow." Ichigo drew his sword.

"Well I suppose that makes two of us," Naruto said, turning around. He didn't draw either of his swords to defend himself. Naruto stood there, hands at his sides, waiting for Ichigo to come at him.

"Aren't you going to draw your swords?"

"No need. Just come at me. Unless you don't think you can win?" Naruto taunted.

Ichigo charged haphazardly at the hooded figure. He swung downwards, but he hit nothing as Naruto disappeared. Naruto appeared directly behind Ichigo. Everyone was wide eyed at how fast this man could move.

"Far too slow Ichigo. You have a great deal of power, but no idea how to actually use it. Although, the same could be said for myself a long time ago, when I was actually alive"

Ichigo swung his sword behind him but missed again as Naruto disappeared. This went for a short time till Naruto decided it was enough. Ichigo's blade came down on Naruto's head, but he stopped it with one finger. Ichigo went wide-eyed at the that fact his blade was stopped so easily. Naruto pushed the blade up and kicked Ichigo in the chest, sending him flying into the gate.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime screamed as she ran up to him to check on him.

"Don't worry, he's fine. I just knocked the wind out of him is all."

"Urahara sent you to help us, right?" Uryu asked.

"Yeah, I guess that's the deal we made."

"Then can you help us past the gate?"

"Sure. That I can do."

On the other side of the gate, shinigami waited as they did not know what to expect. Gin had indeed driven them back. They had stood there for an hour hearing nothing until they heard a loud thump on the gate. The four dozen shinigami stood ready just in case they got past the closed gate.

A rather large white tiger with deep blue eyes sat on a building watching. He had watched the entire chain of events unfold. He thought it odd that Gin would come to the gate as that was not the protocol for such events. He got up to leave when the gate began to move upwards. He looked to see that a person wearing a black trench coat and hood was lifting the gate on his own. He saw a familiar figure, it was Yoruichi, in her cat transformation.

_'Hinata will want to hear of this,'_ the large white tiger thought before disappearing.

The shinigami at the gate got over their amazement quickly and drew their swords for battle.

Naruto stepped forward and cracked his knuckles. "Well, the lot of you can go ahead to wherever it is you're going. I can take care of this." Naruto disappeared and started punching and kicking the shinigami out of the way for Ichigo and his friends. "Get moving. You have a path. Just don't expect me to help you for a while, so try not to get into trouble." The group ran past Naruto into the Seireitei. "Well, once I'm done with this, I can get to my own search." Naruto said as he back handed a shinigami who took a swipe at him with his sword.

Hinata was tending to her flower garden at her home inside of the Seireitei. She had stepped down as Captain of the second division many years ago, allowing Yoruichi to take her place as captain. Hinata had stepped down because she had no love of killing hollows or fighting in general. She had more than enough of that when she was alive. So when the chance came to be able to step down as captain, she did.

Now, Hinata spent her days chatting with the younger shinigami or tending to her garden. She rather liked this life now. Although something was missing from this rather peaceful life. Of course, that was Naruto. Hinata sighed; she always got depressed when she thought of Naruto. Hinata got up and walked inside her home. She noticed Byakko was gone again.

"I tell him to be back by lunch, and of course, he isn't back again. This must be the fourth time this week. Always finding some place to fall asleep. Sometimes I wonder why I allow my Zanpakuto to wander around the Seireitei," Hinata stated in a somewhat annoyed tone.

Of course, her Zanpakuto, Byakko, was there when she needed him, but for the past few hundred years, she had no need to use him as a weapon. So she allowed him to take physical form to roam as he pleased for the most part. Of course, she told him to be back by certain times, but he was often forgetful.

Hinata sat down at the table and thought about current events like Rukia's imprisonment. She honestly thought it was odd. It seemed out of place to imprison her, seeing as she was a Kuchiki. Sometime stuck in the barracks seemed more than fit enough to serve as her punishment. Something was going on, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She heard some footsteps in the house, and turned to see Byakko walking in.

"I have some interesting news, Hinata."

"About what?"

"It seems some Ryoka have come to save Rukia, and Yoruichi is with them. I'm guessing they were the ones she met while in the living world. Although one of them was odd. I couldn't see his face, as it was covered. The small amount of energy I could sense from him was very dark."

"So Yoruichi has finally come back. She'll most likely come here first before anything else," Hinata mused. She was happy she was going to be able to talk with her again after such a long time. "Now, what's this about a hooded figure?"

"He lifted the massive gate of the Seireitei to allow the others to come in."

"Really? Well, I'm sure we will find out who they all are when they arrive. You may need to revert back to your sword form Byakko. I may need to fight again."

"Really? I've been waiting to fight once more! It gets so boring just sitting around all the time."

"Well, even though I don't share your enthusiasm for battle, I'd have to agree. It has been very dull lately. Now, if you would please go fetch them and bring them here just to speed things up."

"Of course. As you wish." Byakko disappeared from the room.

Hinata got up from her seat and walked over to the dresser in the living room. She opened it to reveal the contents. The contents of the dresser was her old captain's robes that she had kept over the years. She hadn't worn it since she stepped down as the second division captain. Although the color of the robes was not the normal white and black. The main white was replaced with a dark purple color. She took it out of the dresser and put it on. "Seems I'll be having company soon enough. And things will be getting rather interesting around here as well." Hinata said to herself as she looked at in the mirror to see how she looked in her captains robes after all this time. "I wonder what Rukia's friends are like?" Hinata asked herself. She wrote a note for Byakko before disappearing from the room.

End chapter

Hope you enjoyed! Please take the time to review, as it's only an extra 15 seconds! :)

Thanks to all those who leave reviews, as I do take the time to read them all, and I thoroughly enjoy reading what you, the readers, have to say. :) Constructive criticism is welcome.

Be sure to check out my other stories, Naruto's Breaking Point, Jiraiya's last student, The Demon King, and The Animal I've Become! Please enjoy and review these fics of mine! :)


	3. Chapter 2 A Long Awaited Reunion

Death was Only the Beginning

No I don't own Naruto or Bleach

Chapter Two

(A/N: Warning there is a lemon in this chapter)

Hinata appeared in front of the meeting hall where the captains would have their meetings. She knew they would be meeting right about now for what happened at the front gate. Although they probably didn't know that the Ryoka had gotten inside the Seireitei yet. They were most likely still under the assumption that they were still outside of the gates. Hinata walked up to the massive doors that lead into the meeting room. A dozen guards stood at attention as to prevent those from going into the room without permission. One of the guards was the vice-captain of the first squad, Chojiro Sasakibe.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-sama, but I cannot allow you to enter. There is currently a meeting taking place," Chojiro said, denying her access to the meeting room.

"Sorry Chojiro, but I'm entering the room whether you like it or not. So please be a kind young man and open the door for me?" Hinata said a sweet tone.

Chojiro knew Hinata was serious. She may talk sweetly, but she was serious and he knew it even if the other shinigami around him had no idea who this person was. He began to sweat as he had to quickly come up with an answer. He knew Hinata was not going to wait long. "Yes ma'am! I'll open the doors," he finally replied. Chojiro quickly opened the doors and allowed her entrance.

Hinata smiled sweetly and thanked Chojiro for being a gentlemen and opening the door for her.

"Vice-captain Chojiro, why did you let her inside? I know she's beautiful and all, but who is she?" were the questions he was being asked by the men under his command.

"That is Hinata Hyuga, former captain of squad two. She was the one in charge of the second division before Yoruichi Shinoin. Hinata stepped down as captain of the second division to allow Yoruichi to take over. She is not someone to be trifled with."

"What? Why?" someone asked.

"Rumor says she was one of the most powerful captains the Seireitei has ever seen, at least that is what the rumor is among the captains and vice captains."

"But why would she quit?" another person asked.

"I don't know. That was before my time, and no one will talk about it. Now back to your posts!"

"Hai!" they all said in unison and stood back in their previous formation.

Inside the meeting room, Gin Ichimaru was getting scolded for taking action without permission. However it stopped short when the doors to the room opened when they weren't supposed to, they all looked to see Hinata walk inside the room.

"Hinata-chan! You're looking as lovely as ever!" Shunsui Kyoraku said as he broke the line of captains he was in to give her a hug.

"I'll warn you now Shunsui that if you touch my back side again I'll remove your hand with no further warning," Hinata said with a sweet smile.

Shunsui held up his hands in defeat and backed off, he knew she never made idle threats and he knew she would make good on her threat. "Just trying to say 'hi' to a friend, Hinata, that's all."

"Yes, well you can do that without touching," she replied.

"It's good to see you again, Hinata-san. What brings you all the way out to the captains' meeting chambers after such a long time?" Captain Retsu Unohana asked.

"It's good to see you to Unohana-san" Hinata said to the dark haired female captain. "I came here to tell you that the Ryoka have made it inside of the Seireitei."

"How?" Captain Sajin Komamura asked. Captain Sajin was different from most captains because of the fact he was anthropomorphic wolf instead of human in appearance although with the helmet he currently wore you could not see his face.

"Byakko told me that a hooded figured clad all in black with two swords strapped to his back lifted the gate rather easily and allowed the Ryoka to pass. Byakko couldn't see any of the person's face. All he could see was that his eyes glowed a dark blue."

That Hinata said caused everyone to whisper amongst themselves, as it was unheard of for someone to actually lift the gate beside one of the guards who guarded them. Their whispered talks went on for a minute before Yamamoto spoke up.

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Hinata. We will act accordingly. All captains are to go to your posts war time orders will be enacted once this meeting is finished. The hooded figure will be considered extremely dangerous if spotted a captain class will be appointed to deal with it."

"Now if you will excuse me I will be going I have someone in a jail cell I need to talk with," Hinata said as she turned around and walked out the door.

"Rukia is set for execution. Do not bother her, Hinata," Byakuya Kuchiki said.

Hinata turned her head to the side to look at him. "Little Byakuya, don't think you can begin to tell me what to do," she said with a smile on her face. Everyone felt a chill down their spine suddenly. Hinata turned around as she had forgotten something. "Oh I must apologize for interrupting the meeting Yamamoto-san," she said with a bow.

Yamamoto just nodded in acknowledgment.

"That woman scares me," Toshiro Hitsugaya mumbled.

A few of the others captains nodded in agreement before Yamamoto began to speak once more.

Hinata walked out of the chamber and passed the guard she dealt with on the way in. Hinata knew that by the time they investigated the gate and its surroundings, Byakko would have gotten to and guided Yoruichi and her friends to her home within the Seireitei.

**...**

Byakko was currently making his way through the Seireitei to find Yoruichi and her friends. The white tiger stood atop a large building, surveying the area in order to locate them. He quickly looked at all the random patrols that were roaming around until he spotted them. "Excellent. They haven't been found just yet. I should go and collect them before the captains' meeting is over with and the patrols triple in frequency." Byakko disappeared from sight to greet the group.

Ichigo and his friends were running through the Seiretei guided only by what Yoruichi was telling them. The group had avoided every patrol. It seemed that the whole of the Seireitei had not yet learned of their presence yet. The group continued to run until a white tiger appeared out of nowhere before them.

"What's with the large cat?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a tiger you idiot!" Uryu yelled.

"Really?"

"YES!"

"Hello Byakko. It's been some time, hasn't it?" Yoruichi said.

"Yes it has Yoruichi," Byakko replied.

Ichigo started to poke the tiger in the head. "Hey, Yoruichi, can all animals talk in this place?" Ichigo asked just as Byakko snapped at him.

"Poke me again, boy, and your head will be my new chew toy."

Ichigo immediately backed up.

"Well... Byakko isn't an animal technically, he's Hinata's Zanpakuto," Yoruichi explained.

Everyone just stared at Byakko for a moment.

"Can all Zanpakuto do this, Yoruichi?" Uryu asked.

"No. Hinata is the only one who can allow her Zanpakuto to roam in such a manner." Yoruichi explained, then turned to address Byakko. "Now Byakko, why are you here?" Yoruichi asked.

"My master Hinata wishes me to lead you bunch to her home. What she plans to do with you, I neither know nor care. I'm only following my orders."

"Why should we trust him?" Ichigo asked.

"Because you don't have choice in the matter. And if you try to run, I'll bite your head off and bring you back in two pieces," Byakko threatened as he licked his chops.

Just as Icihgo was about to say something Yoruichi spoke up. "Just go with it, Ichigo. At this point, we don't have many options." Yoruichi turned to address Byakko. "Alright Byakko, lead the way."

Byakko nodded and jumped up on top of a building. The others did the same, following the white tiger. Before they moved on they noticed someone wasn't with them. Byakko looked down to see Orihime standing there, looking embarrassed. Byakko jumped down next to Orihime.

"Get on..." he muttered.

"Really?"

"Don't make me repeat myself... if I have to I'll leave you here." Orihime got on Byakko. "Wrap your arms around my neck, as we will be moving very quickly, and I don't think you want to fall off."

Orihime wrapped her arms around Byakko's neck. "Th-thank you," she mumbled.

Byakko said nothing in reply as he jumped up to the building with everyone else. "Don't fall behind, as I won't be makeing any stops."

Byakko took off with great speed. The others followed as best they could. Orihime held on as best as she could as Byakko moved swiftly through the roof tops. The only one who didn't seem to have any trouble following was Yoruichi. After about fifteen minutes of traveling at a break neck pace, they finally arrived at Hinata's home. They all walked in to find no one home, but found a note was left on the table. Orihime got off Byakko as he went over to the table to read the note.

_Dear Byakko;_

_I'll be out for a little while to take care of a few things. Make sure Yoruichi changes into her human form. I have some of her old clothes in the spare room._

_P.S. Don't eat anyone..._

"Yoruichi the note has something that pertains to you in it," Byakko called out.

Yoruichi jumped on to the table and read over the note. "She can be no fun sometimes." Yoruichi said before jumping off the table and went to go as the note said. "I'll just be a minute." a few minutes later she came out in her human form wearing some of her old clothes.

Everyone, but Byakko was shocked.

Ichigo voiced what everyone else was thinking. "You're a woman?" The fact was, Yoruichi, in her cat form, sounded very much like a man, so it was a surprise to all of them when Yoruichi turned out to be of the female half of the two genders.

"Looks that way don't it?" Yoruichi said a smirk on her face.

**...**

Hinata had arrived at the place they had taken Rukia so she could wait for her execution. She had no intention of rescuing Rukia yet, but if she had to at a later time she would. Hinata walked into the building that held the cell Rukia was currently in. She knew Rukia would be transferred to the holding cell where she would wait for her execution by tomorrow. She nodded to the guards as she walked into the room where Rukia's cell was.

"Hello Rukia. How are you?"

Rukia turned to see Hinata standing next to her. She stood up as quickly as she could and bowed. "Hinata-sama, I didn't see you!"

Hinata just smiled at Rukia. "That's alright. And how many times have I told you to cut the honorifics?"

"Since the academy..." Rukia mumbled.

Hinata smiled then looked at the person who stood watch over Rukia. "Would you please open the gate so I can have a normal conversation?" The man just nodded dumbly as he was entranced by Hinata's beauty. "Thank you, young man," Hinata said as she entered the cell. She walked over to Rukia. "So Rukia, how have you been?"

"I've honestly had better days," Rukia said in a depressed tone.

"Yes I've heard all about what has happened. I find it odd though that the central forty- six would take things this far, considering you're in a noble family such as the Kuchiki. Anyhow I just thought you would like to know your friends from the living world have come to save you. Although I'm not sure how they're going to accomplish that feat without some major help."

"Idiots..." She mumbled

The door opened and they watched Renji Abarai walk into the room. He stood there for a moment, as he had not expected to see Hinata, since she rarely left her estate these days.

"Hello, Renji. How are things these days?" Hinata asked.

Renji bowed before speaking. "I just came here to tell Rukia something."

"You mean the fact that her acquaintances from the living world have come here for her? I just told her that before you walked in."

"How did you..."

"How did I know? I was the one who informed the captains a short while ago that they had just broken into the Seireitei, despite Captain Gin's efforts eject them."

"What! They made it inside the Seireitei!"

"Yes, now do keep your voice down; yelling does no one any good. I, for one, would like to see how far they get with their plans. They will at least bring some excitement to this boring place. Now if you will excuse me, I have other things to attend to. I'll see you around Rukia," Hinata finished as she hugged the young shinigami. She walked out of the room leaving both Rukia and Renji a little stunned.

"What do you think Hinata's going to do?" Renji asked.

"I don't know. She's always been secretive. Even when she taught us during the academy, nobody could ever read her," Rukia replied. "Now why are you here Renji?"

"Well, I came to tell you four humans entered the Seireitei, but Hinata already told you."

Hinata exited the building, with a smile on her face. She wondered what the humans that Yoruichi brought were like. Hinata was once the Kido teacher of the Shinigami School. That's where she had met both Renji and Rukia when they were first started down the path of being a shinigami.

**...**

Naruto stood on a large building overlooking the Seireitei. He had no idea where Hinata was, nor Ichigo and his friends at this point. He just stood on top of the building, wondering what his next move should be. Naruto sighed, as he sat down for a moment. He watched the shinigami run around below him. He chuckled. They kind of looked like ants. He saw an elderly looking man with a cane in white robes, he seemed far more important than the rest. Naruto disappeared. Sitting here wasn't doing him any good.

Yamamoto was walking by many young shinigami that where currently hurrying to their posts. He paused for a moment when he thought he felt something. He looked at the roof of the building before continuing inside.

**...**

Aizen walked through the Central Forty-six building. The Central Forty-six was dead. He had killed them some time ago. Blood was all over the place, and the bodies still lay where he had killed them. He cursed under his breath as he thought about current events. Hinata was a big problem to his plans. For over a hundred years he's had to play it very carefully. The reason being was because she knew he was up to no good, he had to make sure when she was around to play it safe. He had contemplated making it look as if he was dead, but that wouldn't work, seeing as she would spoil his plans too soon.

However, Ichigo and his friends got inside the Seireitei a day too soon to complete his plans, so now he had to think of a different way to ultimately complete them. Then there was this mysterious person that held a great amount of strength. He or she might become a problem as well. He needed a diversion at some point in time to make his escape. He thought about the low grade Arrancar that he had at his disposal. He grinned that's exactly what he would do when the time came. For now he would just watch and wait for the right time to make his move.

**...**

Hinata walked through the front door of her home. What she saw was Yoruichi holding some orange haired man in a head lock.

"Dammit Let go of me!" Ichigo yelled.

"Nope! Not until you say uncle!"

Hinata cleared her throat to grab their attention. "If you two would cut it out."

Yoruichi instantly let go of Ichigo who fell to the ground as he wasn't expecting to be released like that. Everyone just stared at Hinata. Light blushes appeared on the three young mans' faces.

"You can stop staring at me now," Hinata said to the three young men. They instant started looking in random directions Uryu found the floor to be particularly interesting all of a sudden. She walked by them and sat down on a chair. "Now, do tell me your names."

"My name's Yasutora Sado"

The next to say who they were was Uryu. "My name is Uryu Ishida."

_'Ishida huh? I thought he looked familiar.'_ Hinata thought. She meant Uryu's face, as he really looked very much like his father except his father had white hair instead of blue. "Ishida, that must make you a Quincy."

"How did you know..."

"You look very much like your father, well expect he has white hair, but the face is very similar to his. Although, considering he's a rather cold man most of the time you two probably don't get along to well. But this is a discussion for another time. Who are you?" she asked Orihime.

"My name's Orihime Inoue. It's a pleasure to meet you," Orihime said as she bowed.

"And I'm Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo said in an almost arrogant tone.

Hinata smiled. The way he spoke reminded her of Naruto, as he wasn't one for pleasantries either. Hinata sighed, she was saddened by how these young people had gotten mixed up in this mess. "It's nice to meet you all." Hinata said polity. Hinata didn't want to say this part but she had to. "I'll say this as plainly as I can. The four of you have no chance as you are now to save Rukia."

"She's right," Yoruichi said cutting off Ichigo, who was about to start yelling. "The lot of you right now would only get captured or killed at best. The only reason you lot aren't being detected by the Captains inside of the Seireitei is because of the barrier around Hinata's home."

"Ichigo, you have a great amount of Reiatsu, that's for sure, but you don't have your Bankai, do you?" He shook his head. "I thought as much. If you can't accomplish that, you will never beat a captain class Shinigami. Rukia's execution is in one month. That's our time frame."

"How can you talk so calmly about something like this!" Ichigo yelled.

"I've been in this place for four hundred years, and before this, when I was alive, I was a ninja. I lived to kill as my profession. I was trained to control my emotion when I have to to complete my objective. When I was thirteen I had already killed someone on a mission. Although I guess I was never very good at hiding my emotions back then."

"Umm... who exactly are you?" Orihime asked.

Hinata smiled. "I'm Hinata Hyuga, former captain of the second squad and former Kido instructor at the Shinigami academy."

"Oh, you quit being a teacher Hinata?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yes. I stopped about thirty years ago now. You would know that if you ever came to visit."

"Yeah that's kind of hard all things considering."

"So what do you expect us to do?" Uryu asked.

"For today you will sit here and wait. Then tomorrow or perhaps the next day we will come up with some sort of plan. Orihime was it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Come with me," Hinata said as she got up and walked into her room. Hinata was going through her closet looking for clothes for the young women behind her. "Well I suppose this will have to do," Hinata mumbled as she pulled out shinigami outfit. "You can wear that later if you want. I didn't have anything for the others to wear so if anyone drops by they will just have to hide."

"Thank you," Orihime replied.

Hinata smiled and sat down on her bed. "So are you that Ichigo kids girlfriend?"

"Wh-wh-what? No of course not we're just friends." Orihime replied blushing furiously.

"I see, but I'm guessing from that blush of yours that you wish you were?" Hinata asked in an amused tone.

"I do like and admire him... but he doesn't notice me."

"That brings back memories..." Hinata mused.

"Really?"

"Yes. My fiance, Naruto, never noticed me when I was younger, and it took me a long time to finally tell him how I felt."

"Really? Is he here with you?"

Hinata smiled sadly. "No, he never came to this place. There is something you should understand about where Naruto and I came from." Hinata explained how she was from a different place from the living realm below. Then she explained the abilities ninja posed and then how they died. "My husband-to-be was different from most people, as he had a demon sealed inside of him. When we died, he was probably sent to Hueco Mundo or even directly to Hell, while I came here..."

"you've been waiting for him?"

"Yes, for about four hundred years now," Hinata said as she got off her bed. "Now, how about we go to the bathing spring in the back?"

Yoruichi burst into the room. She had been listening outside of the room the entire time. "That's exactly what I was waiting to hear!"

Four minutes later...

"This feels great," Yoruichi said.

Orihime and Hinata were both sitting in the water, their long hair done up so it didn't get wet. Yoruichi, on the other hand, didn't care and had her hair down. There was still daylight, but that didn't matter as Hinata had erected a barrier to keep people from peeking at them.

"So what happened to the sixth member of your group?" Hinata asked.

"Sixth member?" Yoruichi wondered. "Oh... he wasn't part of our group, but Urahara did send him to help, but I'm not sure where he is at the moment. He stayed at the gate to buy us time to leave, and after that we didn't see him again. I'm sure he's still wandering somewhere in the Seireitei."

**...**

Naruto was currently surrounded by shinigami. The old man had obviously known he was there and played it off like he hadn't a clue.

"Well, there seems to be quite a few of you," Naruto said. His eyes fell on two shinigami in white. They were far more powerful from the others. "Well it seems like you two are most powerful of the bunch here. What are your names?"

"I am captain of the thirteen division, Jushiro Ukitake."

"And I'm captain of the eighth division, Shunsui Kyoraku. May we knew your name?"

"Well seeing as you answer my question I suppose it's only right. Names Naruto. I don't suppose you could just let me by without a fight?"

The two captains were stunned. Was it really Naruto, the one Hinata always had talked about?

"No, I'm afraid the only way that's possible is if you beat us or outrun us somehow," Shunsui replied.

The two captains could feel a very dark power coming from the being standing in front of them. The power was very faint, like he was suppressing it. The other lower class shinigami probably couldn't even feel the energy coming off the being called Naruto.

"I'm sorry, but I really don't have time to play around." Naruto held out his had and a ball of black energy. "Don't blame me if this kills you." Naruto let loose the energy he had built up.

Shunsui's eyes widened, and he quickly took out his swords and attempted to block the massive blast of energy. He strained under the blast trying to redirect it skyward. Shunsui's pink coat over his white captains garb was ripped to pieces, and his Sakkat was blown off from the energy. After almost a minute of straining under the intensity of the blast he managed to redirect it skyward. The blast of energy soared straight up into the invisible dome that covered the Seireitei. The mass of black energy punched right through the invisible dome.

"Are you alright?" Jushiro asked his friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wasn't ready for something like that at all. He's gone it seems." Shunsui finally noticed something was missing. "He ruined my Kimono!" he whined.

Jushiro sighed and patted his friend on the shoulder.

Naruto appeared a great distance away from the two captains. He was glad the captain was able to block the blast, as he hadn't intended to kill anyone. Although he had to admit, he overdid it with that amount of energy.

**In the realm of the Living**

Nel walked around the shop. She had found a pair of blue jeans and green t-shirt to wear. Of course, Urahara had given her a special Gigai to use so she could actually wear these normal clothes. The Gigai was special, in the fact it could completely suppress her Hollow powers. Also because she didn't need to leave the body to use her powers. The Gigai had the ability to phase out to allow her to fight if need be.

Urahara came into the room with Nel. "So tell me, Nel, how powerful is Naruto compared to you and others like you?"

"How powerful? None of us could touch him when he was serious. Some of the hollows like myself, when they came across Naruto, tried to fight him, but none of them ever managed to beat him. Naruto never used his powers unless he was defending himself." Nel sat down on the windowsill in the room and looked out at the blue sky. "I've never seen a blue sky before, or even the sunlight."

"I suppose you wouldn't in Hueco Mundo, seeing as it's always night there."

"So you've been there?"

"Once a while back, and not for very long. Tell me, do you Arrancar have a release form for your sword like Shinigami do?"

"Yes we do."

"Do you know what Naruto's is?"

"No, I've never seen him use it, not even in his fights with the others, but Naruto isn't like us, nor is he like you. His power is far darker than ours. His power sends chills down my spine when he uses to fight others." Nel decided it was time she asked a question. "Do you know someone named Aizen?"

"Yes. I know who he is. He's the reason I'm in the living world right now."

"Well, he's the hollows' current leader."

Urahara's eyes narrowed slightly. "I see. That's very disturbing news."

"Why are you so interested in Naruto?" Nel asked.

"When I shook his hand, I could feel what Naruto's power felt like, and it honestly scared me. I've never felt anything like that before. The feeling of your power and his is rather different, so I asked you about him to see what you would say." Urahara said with a shrug. "Plus, Hinata always held him in such high regard in everything. even the ability to fight."

**In the Seireitei**

Naruto finally found Hinata's home after playing dress up as a shinigami to get the information. He was currently making his way to her home after he had ditched the shinigami uniform. He walked up to the door, opened it, and walked inside, to see Ichigo, his friends, a white tiger, and a dark skinned women with purple hair. They all just stared at him.

"I take it you're the cat I had met earlier?"

"How did you figure that?"

"When I was alive, people could transform into such things rather easily, so it's not much of a surprise."

"Yes, well, I've heard a lot of that from Hinata. So, Naruto, why did you make Hinata wait so long?"

"So you figured it out, eh?" The hood suddenly disappeared revealing his face. "So what gave me away?"

"What you said at the gate gave you away."

Naruto scratched the top of his head. "I guess said a little too much then."

"Pretty much," Yoruichi said with a smirk. "Now what was with the light show earlier?"

"Oh that..." Naruto said rather embarrassed. "It seems that really old guy was sharper than I thought, so I had a run in with two guys in white coats. I think their names were Shunsui and Jushiro."

"Really? Those two?" Yoruichi said in amazement. "I'm surprised you got away from them."

"Yeah, yeah, now could you tell me where she is?" Naruto said, not wanting to waste time on small talk.

"Yeah, she's out tending to her flowers right now," Yoruichi pointed out the window where Hinata was clipping some of the dead flowers off. Hinata had her hair in one large ponytail.

Naruto smiled and walked out of the room into the garden.

"So, wait, that guy is Naruto?" Ichigo asked.

"Yep," Yoruichi replied.

**...**

Hinata was knelt down at her garden, snipping off the dead flowers. She sighed. She had no idea what to do about the current situation. Getting Rukia would be easy enough. However, getting her out of the Seireitei would be next to impossible at this point in time. Then there was Aizen. She knew he was scheming, and it might have something to do with Rukia, but she wasn't sure that man was not easy to predict.

"I wish Naruto was here. He would figure something out..." Hinata said sadly as she cut the last dead flower of her plants.

"Wish, and you shall receive, Hime."

Hinata's eye widened she knew that voice. Hinata shot up, turned around, and saw Naruto standing almost directly behind her. The energy he emitted, however small, felt just like Kyuubi's powers. There he was, smiling like a goofball. Hinata suddenly slapped him across the face.

"I suppose I deser..." Naruto wasn't able to finish as Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. As the kiss deepened, Naruto wrapped his arms around her. However, Naruto noticed something. Hinata was crying. When the kiss ended, Hinata wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest. "Why are you crying Hime?"

"Where have you been?" She cried while her face was still buried against his chest. "I've been waiting so long for you to come and find me."

"I know..." he said softly. "I'm sorry. I kind of got lost along the way, you see..." Naruto smiled warmly as he held her.

**...**

Everyone inside the house was watching the event take place. Yoruichi was a bit amazed, as she had never once seen Hinata cry, but now she just suddenly broke down in tears so quickly after seeing him. She guessed Hinata had been holding it in all these years.

"This is so romantic!" Orihime squealed. "This would make a great romance novel!"

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Well, at least Hinata won't be so depressed all the time," Byakko said as he came walking in the room.

"Depressed?" Yoruichi asked. "She never seemed depressed to me."

"Of course, not Hinata always did her best to hide it. She obviously fooled you, Yoruichi, although that isn't hard when it comes to some things."

"Bastard..." Yoruichi mumbled

"Bitch." Byakko replied.

The room became very tense as the two stared at one another. The others in the room backed away from them as the tension grew between the two. The two obviously didn't get along like they previously had thought.

Naruto and Hinata soon came through the door. Hinata had finished crying and was back to her normal self, although she seemed happier as she had a smile on her face and was happily latched onto Naruto's arm. Naruto was quickly introduced to everyone, including Hinata's Zanpakuto, who just growled at Naruto. Once the introductions were over, night had fallen, and the need to tell everyone where they were sleeping tonight was needed.

Orihime and Yoruichi were sleeping on the spare bed, as it was a queen size. The other three got the couch, chair, or floor. And of course Naruto got to sleep in Hinata's room. As for Byakko, he got to stay and watch for the night.

Naruto had noticed Hinata had been looking at him with lust filled eyes since they arrived back in the house. Once she was done was the sleeping assignments she grabbed Naruto and dragged him off to her room. Hinata quickly threw up a barrier around the room and jumped on Naruto kissing him like she had wanted to for four hundred years.

Begin Lemon

Naruto grinned. "I've been waiting for this," he growled, then began kissing her hard, only for Hinata to suddenly push him down on his back and intensify the passion behind the kiss further. Their tongues danced with each other, exploring the layout of their partner's mouth. Naruto and Hinata moaned at the feeling, the connection between them only breaking when they finally needed air.

"Damn... I really missed that..." Naruto breathed. Hinata nodded in agreement, not having enough air to speak at the moment. Quickly undressing, they gazed at each other for a moment, until suddenly, Naruto flipped Hinata onto her back, and looked down at her hungrily. He began kissing her again, until his mouth began to wander lower. Nibbling at her neck, he made her moan softly, enjoying his ministrations to her body. Then he began nibbling on her collarbone, and his hands moved to cup her breasts.

"N-Naruto-kun... Ohhhhh..." Hinata moaned, feeling the heat running through her body.

Naruto's mouth soon made its way to her breasts, and began licking and sucking on them. Hinata began crying out, wanting more and more of the feeling coursing through her body. Naruto continued his assault on her breasts, enjoying the feeling of them in his hands and mouth.

"Na...Naruto... I'm... AAAAAAAHHH!" Hinata screamed as she let out a powerful climax. Naruto soon moved down to her cavern, cleaning her up with his tongue.

"You taste really sweet, Hina-chan," Naruto said, grinning happily as he saw the blush on Hinata's face. Hinata could only moan in reply, her body still on a high from her orgasm. Naruto smiled warmly and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her as she did the same.

Then, Naruto decided to get to the main event, and he gently pushed his member into Hinata's moist, warm cavern. Being careful, he made his way in, surprised at how tight she was.

"_Then again, I doubt she's had anything inside of her since the last time we made love when we were alive,"_ he thought to himself, then looked her in the eyes and cupped her face in his hand. Hinata squirmed a bit, though, despite her discomfort, she desperately wanted to feel Naruto's girth inside of her fully. Moving to get more of her lover's member inside of her, Hinata began groaning a bit. Soon enough, Naruto realized that she didn't care about the pain right now. And so, he quickly pulled back, then thrust in quickly, spreading her walls in one quick thrust.

Hinata cried out at the feeling of being filled completely so suddenly. She whimpered a bit, having never been filled this much in hundreds of years. As a single tear ran down her face, Naruto kissed it away, along with the rest of the pain. Naruto remained still for Hinata to get used to his size, only moving to wrap his arms around her.

Soon enough, Hinata nodded to Naruto, indicating that she was comfortable with his size now. They both held onto each other as their hips thrust against one another, not wanting to let go for anything. As this happened, memories of their times together while alive rushed through their minds. They kissed each other with a passion as their hips began thrusting even quicker and harder. After a while, Hinata began slowing down, then let out a cry as she released again, causing Naruto to release along with her. They collapsed next to each other, panting for breath as they gazed into each other's eyes.

"I won't leave you again," Naruto whispered gently, pressing his lips against Hinata's.

Hinata enjoyed the kiss, then whispered back, "Thank you..." Hinata soon fell asleep, exhausted from their love making.

End Lemon

Naruto stayed awake holding Hinata in his arms. He had missed being able to do just this; lay in bed, holding Hinata as she slept. _'Nothing will separate me from you again.'_ Naruto ran his fingers through Hinata's long hair, and she snuggled into more. Naruto couldn't help but smile as he kept looking at her. Hinata was just as he remembered her. Naruto sighed. He knew she was going to ask him to help out Ichigo and his friends. He was so tired of fighting though.

He thought when he died he wouldn't have to fight anymore, but of course, that was not the case as he was sent to Hueco Mundo then somehow got himself stuck in Hell. And now he was going to most likely have to fight these people in this place as well. Naruto kissed Hinata on the top of her head. At least for tonight, he could just be with Hinata like this, holding her. Naruto didn't know what would happen tomorrow, but tonight, everything was perfect, as he had the one thing he had wanted the past four hundred years.

End chapter

Hope you enjoyed! Please take the time to review, as it's a fraction of the time it takes to read. :)

Thanks to all those who leave reviews, as I do take the time to read them all, and I thoroughly enjoy reading what you, the readers, have to say. :) Constructive criticism is welcome.

Be sure to check out my other stories, Naruto's Breaking Point, Jiraiya's last student, The Demon King, and The Animal I've Become! Please enjoy and review these fics of mine! :)

Thanks go to Chewie cookies for the lemon. I tried hard to write one a few times for this chapter but failed miserably. So I gave Chewie some guidelines for what I wanted and he made me a lemon for this chapter like he has done in a previous story of mine.

Ok , the reason I didn't explain anything about Hell is because I knew that was Kubo's next arc to the Bleach story. I could have made some shit up on the spot but I felt I could just wait until Kubo explained some aspects of Hell. Of course I'll add my own twist to it and all that jazz. :)

Revisions have been made to the chapter


	4. Chapter 3 Memories and Meetings

Death was Only the Beginning

No I don't own Naruto or Bleach

Chapter three

Naruto lay awake all that night. Although that was nothing new, as sleep could mean death for those in Hueco Mundo. Even now he couldn't sleep, even if Hinata was there with him. Currently it was the wee hours of the morning, and the sun had just come up. Naruto looked at Hinata when she snuggled with him in her sleep. Hinata's Head lay against Naruto's chest her arms around him. He brought his left hand and touched her face gently. Being like this with her brought back so many memories, and one in particular seemed to catch his mind's fancy.

Hinata awoke to see Naruto awake. A pleasant expression was on his face. She nuzzled his chest gently, grabbing his attention. "A ryo for your thoughts, Naruto-kun?"

"Well, I was just thinking about that mock wedding everyone threw us before the battle."

"To bad it was only to raise morale, or the two of us would have been married," she replied.

"Well, I don't think it matters if there's a marriage contract at this point, now does it?" Naruto asked as he gave Hinata a light kiss on the lips.

Hinata sighed contently. "No, I suppose it doesn't anymore. Although, that was the wedding I wanted. All of our friends were there, attending."

"Yeah it was great wasn't it? Albeit completely embarrassing..."

Hinata just giggled, remembering that time.

**Flashback...**

It was the night before the final battle that would end the war. Naruto and Hinata's wedding was supposed to take place the day after the war ended. However, tonight, Naruto and Hinata's friends decided to throw them a mock wedding just for some fun. Of course, neither Hinata nor Naruto knew about this event taking place, as they were off spending some time with one another at the time.

Everyone was quickly moving things around to accommodate for a wedding, even if it was a fake one that held no real meaning. A few of the tents were being torn down to make a large tent for the place where the bride and groom would stand and make their vows. Tenzo was currently make the alter, while Naruto and Hinata's friends were busy arranging flowers and such, or at least Ino was doing that.

Naruto and Hinata were away from the camp. The two lovers were sitting in a large tree on one of the larger limbs, looking at the moon. The two sat there in silence. Hinata was cuddled up to Naruto. They just wanted some time together away from everyone as they didn't get to do that much in the past few weeks.

"When do you want to go back, Hina-chan?"

"Do we have to go at all?"

Naruto smiled. "Sadly, we can't just desert everyone now. Maybe later, alright?"

"Mmm... sounds good to me," Hinata replied, trying to get closer to Naruto.

The two sat there for a time longer. However, the two of them knew they had to return to the camp soon. Naruto jumped down from the tree and looked up at Hinata.

"Jump. I'll catch you," he called up.

Hinata smiled and jumped down, landing in Naruto's arms. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Hinata giggled as Naruto carried her back to camp. Hinata happily wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest. When the two arrived back at camp, they saw everything set up for a wedding. The two had no clue what was going on.

Suddenly, both Ino and Sakura popped out of no where in front of the two.

"Hey, Naruto. We need to borrow Hinata," they both said, grabbing her and rushing off into a tent.

Naruto stood there, not sure what the hell had just happened. Naruto stood there for a moment, before Lee and Kiba showed up behind him, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him off towards a tent.

"What the hell? Let go of me!" Naruto yelled. They said nothing as they dragged him into a tent and stripped him of his pants and jacket. "Hey! What the hell? Give me my clothes back!" They managed to hold him down and stick an all-black formal male Kimono on him. Once they finished dressing him they shoved him back out of the tent. "What the hell guys? What was that all about?" he yelled at the opening in the tent.

Naruto looked around to see Neji in some formal Hyuga garb, along with a few others that he knew, all dressed up. No one had told him anything, and he was very confused.

**...**

Sakura and Ino were currently undressing Hinata while holding her down. She was about to say something when Ino brought out a fancy lavender kimono. The kimono was the one she had brought along with her that she was going to wear at her wedding. She put on the kimono while Ino and Sakura did her hair and a little makeup, as she didn't really need any in the first place.

"Could I ask what's going on?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, well, we just thought about throwing your wedding a little early. Of course, it won't be official, but this will probably raise morale quite a bit. Now hold still. If you keep moving your head, I can't style your hair," Ino said while she was trying to style Hinata's hair.

"Does Naruto-kun know?"

"They probably didn't tell him anything just yet, so no," Sakura replied.

Soon enough, Hinata was ready. Her hair was done up in a bun with a few fancy hair sticks keeping it in place.

"Ah! You're beautiful, Hinata!" Ino squealed as she looked at Hinata.

"Yeah, Hinata. You look stunning in that kimono with your hair done up like that," Sakura commented.

Hinata blushed lightly. "Thanks."

**...**

Outside, Naruto was finally told what was going on. Neji had explained they were doing this to raise morale. Naruto looked around to see it had done just that, as everyone's mood seemed to have changed just from being told a wedding was taking place. Thousands were standing on top of tents and makeshift buildings just to watch. Although Naruto could only make out their silhouettes, as it was dark and the area where the bride and groom were to be wed was the only place lit up. However, he could tell by the atmosphere that everyone's spirits had been lifted. Either that, or they just wanted to eye hump his future wife.

"Just so you know, Naruto, this isn't the real wedding. The Hyuga clan would never sign off on it until there was a proper wedding and such," Neji said as he stood next to Naruto, waiting for Hinata to come out.

"Really?," Naruto said with a sigh. "You guys need to stop with the tradition crap every once in a while."

"I would agree in some circumstances that they do need to change, but it serves our clan well in many instances," Neji replied.

"Whatever you say Neji. All I know is you lot made Hinata miserable for years with your ways." Naruto said, making a comment that was somewhat directed at Neji.

"And you didn't notice her feelings for quite sometime yourself," Neji replied.

"Oh, that's so not my fault..."

"Like hell it wasn't," Neji replied in his usual emotionless tone.

Naruto was about to protest and argue the fact, but the music started and everyone started to line up and/or sit down. Tsunade took her place to conduct the marriage service.

The music stopped briefly. "This is a mock wedding as everyone knows, but let's have some fun, shall we?" Tsunade said loud enough for all to hear. A resounding cheer was heard.

"I feel so... used," Naruto mumbled.

Neji just sighed and went with it, he didn't like it all that much either. Soon enough, the music began to play again, and Hinata came out of the tent. Everyone just stared. She was stunning. Even the women were looking at her like they wanted her. Of course, that was impossible as she was Naruto's. She was led down the isle by her father, Hiashi. Even though it was a mock wedding, he still felt he should do this part. They finally reached the end, and Hiashi left Hinata at the altar and went to stand with the crowd.

"Well, this has been a long time coming, honestly, as many of you have known this was going to happen eventually. Of course, Naruto didn't know that up until four years ago, seeing as he was completely oblivious to Hinata's feelings for him, which extend long before the four years they've been going at it hot and heavy." Tsunade spoke loudly, her voice carried through the large crowd.

Both Naruto and Hinata were completely embarrassed. Their friends just laughed at Tsunade's little jab. Hiashi cleared his throat, grabbing Tsunade's attention.

"Ah right, right. Anyhow, we are gathered here to embarrass the little Gaki that is my adopted grandson and his future wife. I have to admit there is no woman suited for him other than the one standing next to him currently. Hinata grounds him quite nicely. Also she's not too bad to look at is she?" Tsunade asked getting a roaring cheer from the crowd, causing Hinata to become rather uncomfortable. Once the crowd calmed back down, Tsunade spoke once more. "Naruto Namikaze, do you take this beautiful young girl right here to be your wife? To have and to hold in sickness and in health? So help you if you do hurt her I'll break every bone in your body?"

Naruto turned slightly pale. "Of course, I do. Why would I hurt Hina-hime?"

"Good answer," Tsunade turned to Hinata. "Hinata Hyuga, do you love my grandson?"

"Yes. I always have, and I always will."

"Good, because if you ever break his heart... well... use your imagination. Now, do you two have any vows that you want to say to one another?" Tsunade asked.

"Nope. I don't think we need any vows to express how we feel about one another," Naruto replied.

"Good. I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride, gaki."

Naruto closed the distance between them in an instant, and the two shared a passionate kiss. A torrent of whistles was heard going through the crowd as the kiss was going on for almost two minutes now. They finally broke the kiss, and Naruto and Hinata looked at their friends that were still alive today. Everyone but Sasuke was there and alive at that point. Minutes later, everyone was eating and drinking. They were having normal conversations like there wasn't a massive battle to fight in the next day.

Tsunade sat next to Naruto, who sat next to Hinata at the large table Tenzo had made for them to eat at that night.

"Just imagine, Gaki, you'll have to do this all over in about two days!" Tsunade exclaimed as she drank a bottle of sake. The only reason Tsunade or anyone was drinking was because she had brought pills to counteract the alcohol.

Naruto's face just hit the table and everyone started to laugh.

At that time, neither Naruto nor Hinata knew of the choice they would ultimately make that would end their lives, but such thoughts of the battle were completely forgotten that night.

**End Flashback...**

Naruto's arms encompassed Hinata and pulled her whole body closer to him. The two shared a brief, but passionate kiss after they finished that little romp through memory lane.

"I miss everyone, Naruto-kun," Hinata said as she lay her head down on his chest.

"I know. I do too, but there isn't anything we can do about it anymore, I'm afraid," he replied. Naruto ran his fingers through Hinata's long flowing hair. "You want me to help these kids, don't you?" he asked.

"Yes... I've grown attached to a few people in this place, and I wish to protect them."

"You mean that Rukia girl?"

"Yeah, that would be one of them. She's really a good person. It doesn't make sense that they would execute her for something like this. Sure, it's completely against the rules, but under the circumstances and the fact she's of a noble family... it just doesn't make any sense."

Naruto kissed Hinata on the top of the head. "Don't worry, Hime. I'll think of something. Although the fact is, I don't think I can take on everyone in this place. They're pretty strong. We'll need help if were going to figure out what's really going on." Naruto noticed Hinata seemed a bit tense. "Hinata-chan, what's wrong?"

Hinata closed her eyes and nuzzled into Naruto's chiseled chest. "I'm afraid, Naruto-kun."

"Afraid of what?" Naruto asked with concern evident in his voice.

"Of the fact that you're back, and what the others will do once they find out. Some of them probably won't mind too much, but Captain commander Yamamoto... He's so dead set in his ways. Then there's the royal guard who might step in, considering what you've become."

Naruto smiled softly. "Hinata-chan, everything will be just fine. Just don't worry about it too much, alright? When the time comes, we'll deal with it."

Hinata was comforted by Naruto's words, and just laid there contently with her head laying on his chest and her body pressed against his.

**...**

Orihime lay asleep on the bed, snuggled up to Yoruichi. She was have the most wonderful dream. The dream was of her and Ichigo going on a date to the amusement park. "Of course, Kurosaki-kun I would love to go on the haunted house with you," she said in her sleep.

Yoruichi soon awoke to find Orihime talking in her sleep about Ichigo. _'I could have some real fun with this,' _Yoruichi thought. Yoruichi began to whisper a few things into Orihime's ear to see what she would say.

"Of course Kurosaki-kun, I'd love to go on the roller-coaster with you."

Yoruichi chuckled lightly as she wondered how far she could go with this. Yoruichi waited a moment as she thought of something to say. "Orihime-chan would you like to comeback to my place."

"You mean your house Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime mumbled excitedly in her sleep.

"Yes of course, my house."

"I-I-I'd love to..." Orihime finally opened her eyes to see Yoruichi smiling like the Cheshire cat. Orihime soon noticed she was snuggled up against Yoruichi and her head was against Yoruichi's breasts. She started blushing crimson at this little fact.

Yoruichi just started laughing as she looked at Orihime's ever deepening blush. "So, how did your little dream date with Ichigo turn out?" Yoruichi asked seriously amused by Orhime's reaction.

"I... ah..."

"You talked in your sleep Orihime. No use denying it at this point. I also made some suggestions which you replied to."

Orihime pulled the covers over her head she was now completely embarrassed.

Yoruichi just laughed and got out of bed she was wearing nothing but a pair of panties. "You're really cute when your all embarrassed, you know that Orihime?" Yoruichi smiled at the young love struck girl, then quickly started to put her clothes on.

As Yoruichi was putting on her last article of clothing Orihime, pulled the covers off her head and spoke. "Kurosaki-kun doesn't even notice me... I mean all I do is act like an idiot when I'm around him or when he asks me a question."

Yoruichi put her top on and sat down on the bed next to the young orange-haired girl. "You're just nervous. I'm sure someday you can admit how you feel to him. All things come to those who wait, at least that's what they say," she said sagely. Yoruichi ruffled Orihime's hair a bit. "But don't wait too long. You lot got yourselves mixed up in something big. Alright?"

"What should I say? I've really never had to courage to talk with him... or anything." Orihime looked down.

Yoruichi let out a long sigh. "Well, I honestly don't know a whole lot about love and all that. If you want that answer, Hinata-sama would be the best one to answer that question." Yoruichi got up and stretched almost like a cat. "Oh, and Orihime, you might want to put your clothes back on," she said before exiting the room.

Orihime raised an eyebrow before lifting up the covers to see she only had panties and a bra on. Her face turned beet red as she wrapped the blanket around her and looked for her clothes. She had a habit of every so often of taking her clothes off while she slept and it seemed now was just one of those times.

**...**

Ichigo and the rest had woken up only a minute ago. The three young men were sitting at the table talking about what they were going to do.

"How long are we going to have to sit around here and wait?" Ichigo asked.

Uryu sighed before pushing up his glasses with his index finger. "Do you even have a plan on how to rescue and escape with Rukia?"

"Yeah of course I do!" He replied proudly.

"Alright, do tell us how your going to accomplish this feat."

"Well... I was just going to run over to where she was being held and grab her. Then I'd run until I found a way out."

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard Ichigo... seriously."

"Well, I at least have a plan for saving Rukia!"

"Yeah one that will just get us all killed!" Uryu shouted.

The two of them were now butting heads, but stopped when they heard people enter the room. The two looked over to see Yoruichi and Orihime walk into the room. Ichigo looked over and saw Orihime's face turn a light shade of pink before she looked away. Ichigo was rather confused by that action, but didn't dwell on it for more then a few seconds.

"What do you think Yoruichi?" Ichigo asked.

"Right now all we can do is wait. None of you are strong enough to do anything, but wait right now. We still have about a month left so... I guess we can train the lot of you until then and maybe by some miracle we won't get ourselves killed."

"Oh, I wouldn't say we would get ourselves killed in this little endeavor." Everyone looked to see Naruto walking into the room with a smiling Hinata latched onto his arm. "There are only thirteen of them that will actually be a problem. and I've been up against far worse odds than that before."

"So, you're actually going to help?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yeah... well... not that I want to, trust me. I've just never been able to say no to Hinata when she wants something." Hinata blushed lightly at Naruto's comment. "Trust me, I'm not exactly thrilled about fighting right now, but since Hinata-chan asked, I don't really have much of a choice. However, what Yoruichi said was correct. You all need to train if you plan on not being a burden when the time comes."

Ichigo had had enough of being talked down. "I'm not a burden! I know how to fight!"

"Do you now?" Naruto disappeared from Hinata's side and appeared directly behind Ichigo. "Let me ask you, Ichigo. Could you follow my movements at all?" Ichigo's eyes, along with Uryu's and Sado's widened, as they couldn't follow his movements at all. "I thought not. Until you can follow my movements at least a little bit to predict where I'm going to appear, you're nothing but a burden." A stunned silence filled the room.

"Naruto-kun, that's enough," Hinata said, breaking the silence.

Naruto smiled and appeared behind Hinata, his arms around her chest. "Sorry, Hime. Just trying to prove a point."

Hinata leaned back into him and sighed. "I know... just try not to show off, would you?"

Naruto made a pouting face. "Fine." Hinata giggled and Naruto gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm going to step out for a little, Hime. There are a few things I want to look into before we begin."

"Just try to stay out of trouble, alright?"

"You know me," he replied.

"That's exactly what I mean Naruto-kun." Naruto just smiled before disappearing from the room. "I really hope he doesn't cause any more trouble." Hinata sighed and her gaze soon fell upon Ichigo and his friends. "Once Naruto-kun gets back, I'm sure we'll get started."

**...**

Naruto appeared on a large building in the center of the Seireitei. "Now, how am I going to find this Aizen guy when I only have a general description?" Naruto, of course, could have asked Hinata, but he didn't want to worry her with trivial things like that. Nel had told Naruto that Aizen had short brown hair, and that was all she remembered. Naruto spotted a man with long red hair that was tied up in a pony tail; the man also had a great deal of tattoos on him. "Perhaps I could ask him a few questions." Naruto disappeared from the where he stood.

Renji Abarai was walking alone through the Seireitei talking to himself. "Why won't the captain do anything about Rukia's punishment? If I were strong enough I could do something about... heh like that will ever happen. Damn, if Rukia had never met that Ichigo kid. none of this would have ever happened." Renji said to himself.

Naruto was staying a short distance listening to this man talk with himself. _'Hmm... maybe... I might be able to use him for the upcoming fight. Although he needs a little work.'_ Naruto was about to talk with him when the wind blew and got the scent of blood in his nostrils. _'Hmm... I suppose I can always talk with him another time,'_ Naruto thought before disappearing. He appeared in the shadow of a building he saw what looked to be two captains talking with one another, the scent of blood was strong on the both of them. One of them had short brown hair and glasses the other had short white hair and his eyes were almost closed.

"So, Captain Aizen what shall we do?"

"That is quite the question, so many of my plans have been derailed because of this unknown being's presence in the Seireitei."

The two began walking, completely unaware that Naruto was watching them. They arrived at a building surrounded by a gate talking all the way, they passed shinigami along the way, but it's like they didn't even know the two were there. Naruto followed them inside the building, staying at a distance so he wouldn't be noticed. Aizen suddenly stopped as he and the other captain were walking down the hall.

"Something wrong?"

"Thought I felt something," Aizen replied, before he continued walking deeper into the structure. The two walked through a room with dead bodies in it, the room looked like it was used to argue over issues.

Naruto stopped and looked around in the room. _'Huh, I guess this is where the scent of blood came from. This Aizen guy really is up to no good,'_ Naruto thought before following them once more. Naruto came to a big empty room, Aizen and the other man were standing around talking. "Well Aizen, taking over Hueco Mundo wasn't enough for you?" Naruto said, finally making himself known to them.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"Well, today I'm your executioner," Naruto said walking out of the shadows.

"What, you think you are capable of killing me?" Aizen asked arrogantly.

Naruto chuckled briefly before appearing behind Aizen. "Nel told me all the things you've been doing in Hueco Mundo in my absence, and I must say, it seems like you're trying to play God or something."

Aizen's eyes went wide. This being, whatever he was, was very fast. What the person had said had also sent his mind racing. Almost a minute had passed until he finally figured out who it was. "You must be Naruto," Aizen said, coming to a conclusion of who this being behind him was.

"Ah, so you know me then."

"There isn't a hollow in Hueco Mundo who doesn't talk about the so-called unofficial king of Hueco Mundo."

"King? What a bunch of crap. So I beat the tar out of a few arrogant Arrancar and killed countless Menos and other such things. That doesn't make me king in the least. Now if you want to talk about kings, there's that old Arrancar that sits on a throne all the time and thinks he's king of that hell hole of a sand box."

"Oh yes, Espada number two. When I asked him about you he really had nothing good to say."

Naruto began to draw his sword. "As much as I've liked our little chat, I have to kill you now." Naruto brought his sword down.

"If you do, something might happen to Rukia." Naruto's blade stopped just before slicing into Aizen.

"Pray tell, why I should care?"

"There is an item embedded in her body that will most certainly take away her shinigami powers if left alone and may even kill her."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Because, former second division captain Hinata cares about that girl."

Naruto sheathed his sword for the moment. "And I suppose you have a way of getting this object out of her, without killing her?"

"That, I most certainly do."

"And I suppose you want to trade your life for doing this little service?"

"That was the general idea, yes."

Naruto thought over Aizen's little proposal for a moment. "Very well, Aizen. I'll let you obtain your little item, as dealing with you isn't really my job in the first place. Just so you know, you remind me of someone from when I was alive. The weirdo's name was Orochimaru. That guy had delusions of grandeur as well. In the end, he died after obtaining what he thought would make him invincible. I have a feeling you will turn out just the same, I'm afraid, even without my interference." Naruto walked past Aizen and towards the door leading out. Naruto stopped and began to speak without turning around. "I have a feeling what you are seeking will give you some sort of boost in power, but as I said, you will still fall far short of your goal."

"We shall see," Aizen said in reply.

"Yes. We shall see how it all comes to pass, won't we? Oh, and Aizen? If you hurt Hinata, there will be no place in Heaven, Earth, Hell, or any place in between that will keep you safe from me." Naruto disappeared from the room.

Gin finally spoke up. "What a scary man." Gin had been standing right there watching the entire time as Naruto was about to kill Aizen. Gin noticed the small amount of sweat around Aizen's hairline. It seemed he was actually afraid. That was the first time he had ever seen Aizen sweat, even if it was just a little.

"Yes, a very interesting individual. There is one thing I am unsure of about that man," Aizen said as he adjusted his glasses.

Gin raised and eyebrow at Aizen's statement. "What might that be?" he asked.

"What is he exactly? He's no shinigami, nor is he hollow. His powers are far darker than those of a hollow, and more potent as well."

"True, the guy was giving off a bone chilling aura. So are we going to up the date of the execution as planned?"

"No, not any longer. For now, we'll wait the full month. By then, I should be able to assemble quite the distraction."

"Sounds like it will be lots of fun." A devilish smile appeared on Gin's face and his eyes opened a little more than usual, giving him a truly scary smile.

**...**

Naruto appeared at the front door of Hinata's home. _'I just know once Hinata finds out I let that guy slide she's going to be upset with me,'_ Naruto thought as he opened the door and stepped inside the house. Naruto walked through the house and found no one inside. Naruto heard someone humming. He looked out the back window to see Hinata tending to her flowers.

Hinata was humming a happy tune as she tended to her flowers. She was a little startled when a pair of arms encircled her. "What took you so long, Naruto-kun?"

"Sorry about that, lost track of time." Naruto rested his chin on her shoulder. "So, where is everyone?"

Hinata leaned back into Naruto. "I decided to have Yoruichi take them to her old training area and get Ichigo started. He will need to at least obtain Bankai to be of any real help."

"So we have the house all to ourselves for at least the rest of the day?" Naruto asked suggestively.

Hinata smiled. She knew what he was trying to say. "So you want to make up for lost time, huh?" she asked, a light blush on her face. Hinata disappeared from Naruto's arms and appeared at the door to the house. Hinata giggled a little before disappearing into her home.

Naruto looked at Hinata who stood in the door way briefly before giggling a bit and disappearing inside. "Oh... so that's how you want to play, huh?" Naruto said before running in after her.

Naruto chased Hinata around the house, the two of them laughing the whole time. Naruto lunged at Hinata, but she twisted and he went sailing by her into the next room. Naruto got back up and resumed the chase. After about ten minutes of running through the house, Naruto finally caught Hinata.

Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata. "Ha! I caught you, Hime," he said triumphantly. "Now what do I get?"

Hinata giggled. "This." she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Hinata sighed and buried her face into his chest. "I really missed you, Naruto-kun."

"Huh? I was only gone a few hours," he replied.

"That's not what I meant," Hinata said softly.

Naruto arms tightened around Hinata. "I know... I didn't mean to, it just happened." The two stood their for a time enjoying the closeness of one another. "You'll leave with me once this is over, right Hina-chan?"

Hinata looked up Naruto and the two shared another kiss. "Of course, Naruto-kun. I've been waiting for a long time, and I'm not going to make that waiting be for nothing."

"Now about that making up for lost time?" Naruto asked.

Hinata smiled, and whispered something into Naruto's ear before disappearing into her bedroom. Naruto had a perverted grin on his face. He wasted no time following her and shutting the door behind him.

End chapter

Hope you enjoyed! Please take the time to review, as it's a fraction of the time it takes to read. :)

Thanks to all those who leave reviews, as I do take the time to read them all, and I thoroughly enjoy reading what you, the readers, have to say. :) Constructive criticism is welcome.

Sorry this wasn't a new chapter, I just made a few small changes, but for some reason or another I could not update the story so I had to delete and repost.

Be sure to check out my other stories, Naruto's Breaking Point, Jiraiya's last student, The Demon King, and The Animal I've Become! Please enjoy and review these fics of mine! :) Also, I've made a new story. Heart of Iron it's a Naruto Iron Man crossover.


	5. Chapter 5

This is not a chapter, I'm afraid.

All right, I'll just get this over with. I dislike what I've done with this story, I really do. I will be taking this down shortly.

However, that doesn't mean I won't do a crossover anymore. I will, in fact, be redoing the entire story. The first chapter is about halfway done already, and it's, for the most part, completely different from the first story, seeing as I dislike just rehashing what I've already done.

Of course, however, there will be a little bit in common with the old story in the beginning part of the chapter.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I have a poll, which is basically 'who are the top ten authors'. I have actually removed myself from the list as to not skew the results.

Also do check out my story Apprentice of the Sage


	6. not a chapter

I posted the new version of this story. It's only a prologue so far like i did with this one. I hope you'll check it out.

The name of the story i kept relatively the same as this one "Death was merely the beginning" is the new stories name. It's of course Naru/Hina.

Anyhow i do hope you'll go check it out.


End file.
